years of Getting Mines 25 out of the Ground, for Good.

Donor Report 2014 HALO specialises in removing the debris of war The HALO Trust is a pioneering charity that specialises in the removal of the deadly debris of war. We locate and destroy landmines, cluster bombs, other explosive items and dangerous stockpiles of weapons and ammunition so that some of the world's most vulnerable people can return home, plant their crops and raise their families in safety.

Our mission is to get mines of the ground, for good. Contents

Celebrating 25 Years 7 of Getting Mines out of the Ground

The Problem The most mined town in Africa 8 Children killed by cluster bombs 10 Mined and forgotten: Zimbabwe’s border communities 11

The Solution Landmine survivors become deminers 12 The first step to solving the global landmine problem 14 Interview: Surveying in Colombia 15 Building trust in the West Bank 16 Destroying weapons and ammunition 17

The Impact How mineclearance is bringing people home 18 Armenian Diaspora help clear Nagorno Karabakh 19 Cultivating a safer Afghanistan 20 A safe path to a peaceful future 21

Global Map 22

4 Abkhazia 24 Afghanistan 25 Angola 26 Armenia 27 Cambodia 28 Colombia 29 Georgia 30 Ivory Coast 31 Kosovo 32 Laos 33 Mozambique 34 Myanmar 35 Nagorno Karabakh 36 Somaliland 37 Sri Lanka 38 West Bank 39 Zimbabwe 40

Financial Report 43 Directors and Trustees 44 With Thanks 45 Get Involved 46

5

HRH Prince Harry with Teresa Heinz Kerry and US Senator Patrick Leahy at a dinner to celebrate his work with HALO in Washington, DC

Celebrating 25 Years of Getting Mines out of the Ground

n 2013 HALO marked a quarter of a century of work the Prince an opportunity to meet with HALO deminers removing the deadly debris of war. We held a special and beneficiaries, while bringing worldwide media I25th Anniversary Appeal with our Patron, His Royal attention to the ongoing landmine problem. Highness Prince Harry, to raise awareness of the need Speaking at a dinner in Washington, DC, hosted by the to employ more deminers to get more landmines out of British Ambassador Sir Peter Westmacott to recognise the ground more quickly. Prince Harry’s work with HALO, the Prince recalled his Throughout the year we held a series of international mother’s interest in the issue and paid tribute to HALO events and exhibitions. Prince Harry launched our 25th and our donors: Anniversary Photo Exhibition on Capitol Hill in “My mother, who believed passionately in this cause, Washington, DC where he was hosted by Senator John would be proud of my association with HALO. In her McCain and his wife Cindy, a HALO Trustee. The special way, she adopted it as her own. She would join exhibition portrays the devastating effect of landmines, me – along with all of you, I’m sure – in praising HALO our work to remove them and the positive impact for the amazing work that it has done over the past demining has on communities. The exhibition then quarter century, and in hoping that one day soon its travelled to Sri Lanka, Kosovo, Colombia, Mozambique, humanitarian work will be done.” San Francisco and Google’s campus in Mountain View. Thank you to all our donor governments, foundations Prince Harry also visited our demining operations in and individual supporters for their invaluable support Angola, following in the footsteps of his mother, Princess over the last 25 years. We look forward to continuing our Diana, who visited a minefield in Angola in 1997. It gave work together, “getting mines out of the ground, for good”.

7 The Problem Landmines and explosive remnants of war continue to endanger some of the world’s poorest and most vulnerable people, injuring and killing thousands every year.

Above: A mine victim in Cambodia, one of over 25,000 amputees in the country Below: Prince Harry visited the town of Cuito The most mined Cuanavale during his 2013 visit to Angola town in Africa

The town of Cuito Cuanavale, in the very south of Angola, is a rural, poor African town in an extremely remote location. It was here that one of the most significant cold war battles in Southern Africa took place, leaving a legacy of lethal minefields behind.

his small town, with a current population of 43,000, numbers are exaggerated, it is true that the South is surrounded by these lethal minefields. African tanks encountered an extensive system of ITndeed, on a recent visit by HRH Prince Harry, defensive mine belts that stopped the Cuito Cuanavale was described as “the armoured attack dead in its tracks. most mined town in Africa”. We began mineclearance in Cuito There are varying accounts of the Cuanavale in 2005 and over 22,000 Battle for Cuito Cuanavale, which took landmines have been located and place in the late 1980s, but what is destroyed so far. The minefields closest certain is that the battle was a decisive to the town centre have been cleared event leading directly to the negotiated and we are now pushing out to reach withdrawal of South African and Cuban those further afield. troops. Angolan sources claimed to have More than 25 years on from their creation, defeated a force of 500 tanks, in the largest these minefields continue to pose a deadly battle on African soil since the Allies’ victory at El threat to the local population and they prevent the Alamein in the Second World War. Although these expansion of the growing town. Indeed, today the need

8 A silent hidden for land to farm is so strong that families are encroaching within mine lines, and footpaths threat denies some can be seen running straight through minefields. of the world’s When these mines were laid in the 1980s, the grandfather of HALO deminer Daniel poorest people safe Antonio was told to leave his land and he was given a smaller plot in a crowded area close to town. access to their homes Working for HALO, Daniel and his colleagues have destroyed over 2,400 mines from and land in 58 states 10 hectares on and around his grandfather’s land. “We destroyed several MON-200s around the world. here,” Daniel said, referring to the large Soviet directional fragmentation mines which Each and every day each contain over 26 pounds of high explosives. Now Daniel’s growing family has been able to move back to his grandfather’s land, producing corn to sell in the local market. 10 more people With his own family plot secure, Daniel continues demining to clear ground for his become casualties neighbours. Clearance is saving lives, preventing accidents and allowing people to use of landmines and their land productively and without fear. Yet there remains much work to be done to explosive remnants tackle at least 10 very large minefields remaining around the town. When Prince Harry’s mother, Princess Diana, visited HALO in Angola in 1997 she saw of war. first hand HALO’s mineclearance in the towns of Huambo and Kuito, and by doing so she raised global awareness of the suffering caused by landmines. Since finishing the clearance of the minefields Princess Diana visited, these areas are HALO deminer works towards a now home to the centres of two bustling cities, and are completely unrecognisable as 1980s South African tank in one previous minefields. One day, in the not too distant future, the same could be true for of the very large and dense the minefields Prince Harry visited during his trip to Cuito Cuanavale. minefields in Cuito Cuanavale

9 Children killed by cluster bombs

On Saturday January 25 2014, two boys from Salen village, in Savannakhet Province, Laos, found a BLU-26 cluster munition, also known as a ‘bombie’. The boys, Phouvan, aged 13 and Khonsavanh, aged 16, attempted to cut it open to see what was inside. The ‘bombie’ exploded killing both boys instantly.

t least 20,000 people have been killed or injured by Sepon, one of our target districts within Savannakhet, Unexploded Ordnance (UXO) in Laos since the end averages 19 accident victims per village – the highest of Aof the Vietnam War. Accident victims tend to be the most any district in the country. Reports estimate that at vulnerable people in the community and, right now, 40% current rates it would take hundreds of years to clear all of all cluster bomb casualties are children. the UXO that contaminates Laos. We are hopeful As a result of an extensive bombing campaign that our new programme will significantly from 1964-1973 around one third of Laos shorten this time period. remains contaminated with unexploded According to the Cluster Munitions cluster bombs. With generations growing Monitor, civilians account for 94% of up alongside the threat of UXO, the global casualties from cluster munitions. Laotian people are adept at Cluster bombs disperse large numbers incorporating remnants of war into their of small ‘bombies’ over a wide area; everyday lives – they are used as many did not explode at the time, killing decorations, and fences and houses have children like Phouvan and Khonsavanh stilts made of bombs – but this activity many years later. brings people into direct and dangerous While these highly sensitive sub-munitions contact with the explosives. Many accidents are remain on the surface or under the ground, they related to scrap metal collection and the ever pose an ongoing serious threat to communities in changing global metal prices tempt people to harvest an estimated 24 states around the world. metal from explosive items despite the risks. By the end of 2013, HALO had cleared over 200,000 HALO began UXO clearance operations in Laos at the cluster bombs around the globe, but too many cluster start of 2013. We currently operate in Savannakhet bombs remain. We are committed to removing them, Province, an area heavily contaminated with explosive bringing an end to the carnage caused by these remnants of war and subject to the most UXO accidents dangerous ‘bombies’. in Laos. Children are at high risk for UXO accidents because of their natural curiosity

10 Raimon Chinoza, a mine victim, pictured in front of his family’s home in Zimbabwe

Mined and forgotten: Zimbabwe’s border communities

ast year 17 year old Raimon Chinoza stepped on a reported density of 8,850 per mile of frontage in an landmine while farming his family’s land. Family attempt to prevent liberation fighters from entering the Lmembers carried him to the dirt track and he was taken country. Thirty-five years later the majority of these mines by ox cart to the village. Many hours later an ambulance remain. finally arrived to take him to the hospital. Raimon lost his The minefields, which follow the border with leg in the blast. To pay for his treatments and a prosthetic Mozambique, are some of the biggest in the world. If limb his family sold the three cows they owned. Without reports and partial records are correct, Zimbabwe’s their cows or Raimon, their eldest son, the family had to minefields may contain millions of mines. stop farming. Raimon’s mother did what she could on Forty years after the war ended, the humanitarian her neighbours’ land to help earn food for the family situation in Zimbabwe is that of a country in the while his father began working as a labourer to repay a immediate post-conflict phase. There are landmines in debt incurred for his son’s treatment. Without income it close proximity of houses, schools and clinics; access to was impossible to send Raimon’s younger brothers and agricultural land is denied to small scale farmers and sisters to school. livestock are killed weekly. Landmine injuries often have a far more devastating Communities are separated from their primary water impact than the initial blast, with the consequences of sources, poor rural families live in peril and fear and are injury rippling out across families and communities. The unable to use the land for crops and grazing. It is Chinozas’ story is by no means unique and the families estimated that 16,728 hectares of valuable farmland is of other Zimbabwean landmine victims frequently suffer being denied to a population fighting to feed itself. the same sudden downward spiral. We began mineclearance in Zimbabwe in November Zimbabwe’s border communities live on the knife-edge 2013. The 1,000th landmine was destroyed a mere six of poverty, many depending on subsistence farming months after the start of those demining operations. alone. It is common for the whole family to be brought in Mineclearance will allow for a brighter future for these as labour while cattle are a critical source of draught forgotten border communities who are isolated and power, manure and milk. This existence is so precarious, devoid of wider development opportunities. so fragile, that one upset – like a landmine accident – Our mineclearance work transforms communities and has calamitous results for the whole family. changes lives. Soon after HALO began operations in Raimon is one of the forgotten victims of a brutal war Zimbabwe, Raimon’s father found steady work as one of fought at the end of the colonial period, 20 years before our deminers, and, as a result, Raimon’s brothers and he was born. In the late 1970s Rhodesian forces laid sisters are back in school and the family is optimistic landmines along the northern and eastern borders at a about the future.

11 The Solution Demining is a simple process, generally carried out with simple equipment by locally recruited staff.

Above: A supervisor checks his calculations before the next demolition. The white sticks that surround him are where mines have already been destroyed. Below: Mr. Cham Mao is one of 20 amputees hired by HALO in 2013 Landmine survivors become deminers

ham Mao was a soldier during the Cambodian offering employment specifically to mine survivors. Mao conflict in the 1990s. He was on leave and walking came for an interview and was offered a job, joining his Cto visit his family in Ou Trouy village, near the Thai daughter in working for HALO. Mao is now able to border, when he stepped on a landmine. Mao support his family for the first time since his suffered a traumatic amputation of his lower accident. right leg. At first Mao was nervous of working in a Ou Trouy village was still two miles away minefield, but HALO’s training, procedures so he wrapped clothing around his leg to and safety rules have given him the try and stop the bleeding as he made the confidence and knowledge to undertake slow journey home. Mao then spent six this important work. Since he started months in a hospital in Thailand. When working with HALO Mao has removed he recovered he worked on his family’s mines in the northwest province of Otdar farm but it was difficult to provide enough Meanchey where he was once based as food for everyone and to look after his a soldier, and he has helped to clear seven injury. minefields near the site of his own accident. Eleven years later donor funding allowed He takes pride in his role in making Cambodia a HALO to begin clearing the remaining mines near safer place to live. Mao’s village. His daughter, Neang Vann (22 years old), In 2013 20 landmine survivors, all amputees, passed applied for a job and joined HALO as a deminer. Then HALO’s demining training course and all are physically in January 2013 his daughter told Mao that we were capable of carrying out the demining work needed in the

12 HALO deminers are trained as paramedics and often provide critical medical assistance to the rural communities

Idil Suleiman Ahmed is the most senior female member of staff in Somaliland. Idil started with HALO as a radio operator before moving on to later take over the role of Finance Manager.

minefields of Cambodia. Employment with HALO offers these survivors an opportunity to support their families and a chance for them to remove the deadly legacy of war, which almost took their lives, once and for all. Demining provides dignified, respected and valued employment. HALO’s work in Cambodia, and around the globe, supports casualty reduction and poverty Locally recruited and trained HALO staff provide alleviation. Our employment practices have a significant a full range of operational, administrative and financial impact on the mine affected communities, predominantly the rural poor, from which staff are managerial services, including medics, deminers, recruited. We provide our local staff a chance to improve GIS experts, finance staff and senior managers. their community and earn a proper wage that can typically support five or six people.

Landmine survivors celebrate passing their demining course in Cambodia

13 A Cambodian survey team member speaks to the local people to map where accidents have occurred

The first step to solving the global landmine problem

Every day tens of thousands of civilian humanitarian deminers around the world go to work to prevent injury and death. They make land safe so that people can return home, plant crops and rebuild their lives.

n 2012 the cost of this work was $681 million in questioning and accurate mapping, we have reduced the international and national support for mine action. It is estimated area in need of mine clearance to tIime-consuming work and can be expensive, but the approximately 30km 2. This is still a very significant area impact of this work in transforming lives and to deal with, but the 79% reduction makes it a far more communities is staggering. manageable project. Accurate survey is essential to correctly identify the There is a desperate need for accurate data and a minefields and prioritise the allocation of donor clear understanding of the remaining landmine and resources. With over 25 years’ experience HALO’s explosive remnants of war problem. Many governments survey work is tight, accurate and evidence-based. Our have asked us to conduct surveys, both immediately approach, known as ‘polygon survey’, has significantly post-conflict and after Mine Action programmes have reduced the size of suspected hazardous areas around been well established. the world. This has dispelled the notion that the mine Other notable survey work carried out by ourselves, problem is intractable and our approach has paved the and where relevant collaboratively with other actors, way for realistic and accurate planning. includes comprehensive surveys of all remaining In the last year the results achieved by the survey minefields in Cambodia (2012), Somaliland (2009) and teams in Zimbabwe have been phenomenal. HALO was Mozambique (2007) and of cluster munitions and originally asked to survey 145km 2 of suspected landmine contamination in Georgia immediately post minefields, a huge area. By employing rigorous conflict (2008).

14 Interview: Surveying in Colombia

Johanny Zuluaga manages a HALO survey team working in Colombia’s Antioquia Department. As soon as the fighting ends, their work begins; travelling from village to village to locate and map minefields in areas that have emerged from guerrilla control. The findings of such survey teams are used by policymakers to guide national strategy, by government agencies to facilitate the return of people displaced during the fighting and by HALO to plan its demining operations. We spoke to Johanny and his colleagues, Henry, Llesenia and Katherine about their work.

You’re from this region and lived through the worst How do communities know where minefields are of the fighting: what was it like? located? Johanny: I lived in the village of Campo Alegre which Johanny: Rural communities lived side-by-side with the is approximately 20 minutes from the town of Nariño. It armed groups when the violence was at its worst. Often took the guerillas three days [in 1999] to take over the the groups would warn the communities not to go to town. I saw them and went there to warn my relatives. certain areas, or the communities would work out where The guerrilla attack began and I, together with my mum, the minefields were, based on where the armed groups had to escape through the crossfire. The guerrillas had had camped, or passed through or where accidents or set up gas cylinders as bombs in my house incidents had occurred at some point. hoping to attack the military when they Sometimes it’s obvious and the passed through the area. This is why my community will tell you “the minefield is family decided to leave for a week until from here up until that point”, and we found out that the armed groups that’s the most helpful scenario for were no longer surrounding the us. But sometimes they’ll say, “the house. whole mountain is mined”, and What’s the situation like in that’s when we have to southeast Antioquia now? investigate. We have to define a Llesenia: The situation has specific area, not leaving out a really calmed down. People can single metre that might contain at least leave their houses without mines. worrying, go into the countryside HALO uses the model of without worrying, travel without recruiting people from the same worrying. You just couldn’t do that nine communities we are working in, which or ten years ago. means we are not complete strangers. Describe your typical day working for If we’re in a group of four or five and one of HALO? us is known to the family and they’ve seen us Johanny: The day starts at about 5:30 am when I start around, that inspires more trust. We explain what we’re preparing equipment and checking how the team are, doing there, that we are a civilian organisation, that we’re making sure they’re feeling ok before we leave. completely independent from any governmental group, Beforehand, we will have made contact with the president and that creates trust. of the village so that when we get to the village, we can What are you most proud of? start visiting houses, speaking to the community and Henry: It is wonderful work to be able to return land to explaining who we are and what we are doing. the communities. It’s a source of pride, to be carrying out If the community fears a certain place, we go there and this work so that other communities, as well as my own, ask them specifically why they’re afraid. If possible, they can return to cultivating their land. will identify the area as either a definite minefield or just Katherine: We want these people to return to their land, a suspicious site. We will map the area, mark it and carry to cultivate, to be able to walk on it because you can see out all the other activities required of a survey team. that they need it. This is great work that is being done, Before leaving we always sign an agreement with the please keep supporting it. community leaders sharing our primary survey findings.

15 HALO deminer clearing the first minefield in the West Bank Building trust in the West Bank

lmost 50 years ago, a minefield was laid by the Once a-Nabi Elyas minefield is cleared, Palestinian Jordanian military just 200 metres from the village of landowners will be able to replant their olive groves and Aa-Nabi Elyas in the Qalqiliya District of the West Bank. resume farming other valuable crops for the first time In the subsequent decades accidents have occurred since 1965. regularly and these landmines have blocked access to Ra-ed is looking forward to planting olive trees on his fertile agricultural land owned by the Palestinian people cleared land. This is the principal cash crop for much of in this community. the West Bank and once the trees reach maturity, the Ra-ed Halil’s family owns land that is part of a-Nabi sale of olive oil will generate an estimated annual income Elyas minefield. Ra-ed’s father was forced to relinquish of 15,000 Shekels (approximately $4,000 USD). the use of this land in the 1950s and it has since remained unused and unproductive. In a region where agricultural land is scarce, leaving land uncultivated has a negative impact on the entire community, suppressing economic opportunity and reducing food security. With funding support, primarily from the US Government, HALO is now clearing this minefield with the mutual consent of both the Israeli and Palestinian mine action authorities. The Israeli and Palestinian authorities have made significant efforts to facilitate HALO operations in the West Bank. HALO field operations at a-Nabi Elyas began on April 2, 2014 and by the end of the second month of clearance 45 mines had been destroyed.

16 Destroying weapons and ammunition

In Herat City Afghanistan in April 2014, HALO teams defused a 30 year old 500kg Russian aircraft-dropped blast bomb. The bomb, which was found during the construction of a residential building, was fused and armed and so posed an immediate danger to the surrounding community. HALO teams used 8,000 sandbags and 140 metric tons of soil to create protective works which allowed the fuse to be safely removed by rocket wrench.

n Afghanistan, HALO plays a significant role in the weapons and ammunition around the globe, and to assist security situation by leading the hunt for insecure with physical security and stockpile management. This Iammunition. This helps governments consolidate humanitarian work reduces the threat to civilian peace by destroying ammunition and populations and promotes stability in fragile deactivating weapons, preventing them being states. re-used by non-state armed groups. In the aftermath of a conflict communities In the Central African Republic we too often face a range of hazards related provided weapons disposal training to the to weapons, such as abandoned caches local Gendarmerie and Army. The training and stockpiles containing excess focused on the use of weapons shears, a munitions or weapons that are poorly specialised weapons cutting tool designed secured. The global problem of poor by HALO and used in six countries to ammunition is such that on average there facilitate disarmament projects. During the is a major unplanned explosion, somewhere training thirteen students were certified and in the world, once every three weeks. 745 weapons were destroyed. The newly trained Globally HALO WAD teams have disarmed, teams can now dispose of unwanted and potentially destroyed or dismantled 3,000 heavy weapons ranging dangerous weapons at a rate of up to 50 items per hour. from tanks to rocket launchers and anti-aircraft guns, and HALO has dedicated Weapons & Ammunition Disposal we have cut up over 150,000 surplus, illegal and (WAD) teams to destroy excess, insecure and unstable redundant small arm weapons.

The 500kg bomb found in Herat was destroyed under controlled conditions at a central demolition site

17 The Impact By clearing landmines from schools, water sources, hospitals, housing and farmland, whole generations and communities have the opportunity to rise out of poverty.

Children collect bamboo on ground made safe by HALO in Cambodia How mineclearance is bringing people home

efore fighting began the village of Nagarkovil, in the front line for years” said Pararasasingham northern Sri Lanka, had been home to over 1,700 Vejayakumar from Nagarkovil village. “Now, after Bpeople. During the civil conflict the village formed part of mineclearance, we have a village again.” the eastern side of the Forward Defensive Line, and Having completed clearance of the central part of the families were forced to flee with many going to live in village, we are now working around Nagarkovil’s temporary government camps. Once the war was perimeter to improve security. This includes the coastal finished, these families were unable to return to their strip and coastal road that are used by fishermen, and homes. The reason? Dense mine lines and scattered areas in east that have traditionally been used by the unexploded ordnance covering Nagarkovil. community to grow rice and graze cattle. We began removing mines from Nagakovil in April Nagarkovil village is just one example of a community 2011, gradually moving all our demining teams from returning and rebuilding after HALO mineclearance in Sri Jaffna there to accelerate clearance for resettlement. By Lanka. In total, some 160,000 people have returned to August that year the area began to open up and 86 the areas surveyed and cleared by HALO in northern Sri families immediately returned after 10 years of Lanka. In Jaffna district, some families had been displacement, to begin rebuilding their lives. Since then displaced for more than 20 years. another 150 families have followed. As areas that were formerly off limits during the long HALO’s partnership with ZOA Refugee Care, a civil war open up, we conduct mineclearance to allow development NGO, provided assistance to the newly these long-term Internally Displaced Persons (IDPs) to resettled families, and shelter, sanitation and livelihoods return to their land to finally rebuild their homes, grow projects began almost immediately. “Our village was on crops and re-open small businesses. Kanthan

18 Armenian Diaspora help clear Nagorno Karabakh

enerous contributions from Armenian Americans in this region. I am very glad that there are people who has funded clearance of cluster bombs from the give money to this type of charity.” Gvillage of Norashenik in the Kashatagh/Lachin region of The funding to clear Norashenik village was made Nagorno Karabakh. possible thanks to support from Landmine Free Norashenik village was hit by a cluster Artsakh, a group of concerned Armenian bomb strike during the war of 1992-94 Americans, based in Los Angeles, who have between Azerbaijan and Armenia. In committed to helping HALO clear all the 2013 12 cluster bombs and 28 other remaining landmines, cluster bombs and dangerous items of unexploded unexploded ordnance from Nagorno ordnance were found and destroyed by Karabakh. The mission of Landmine HALO teams to make safe over 370 Free Artsakh is to generate awareness of acres of land. the mine problem and to fundraise for The constant threat of cluster bombs demining, clearing one village at a time. meant Virab Shaboian had previously been The villages they are focused on are in unable to let his children outside. Now Virab’s the Lachin, Hadrut and Martuni regions where children can play in safety, he can cultivate the no international government grants and funds land to feed the family and the entire village of 105 is have been secured. Without private funding these no longer in danger. minefields might never be cleared. Virab had these words for the donors: Their next campaign will aim to raise $100,000 to make “I definitely have to say thank you to all the people who Govshatly village, in Hadrut Region, safe and to return ensure the safety of my children, but also other children 43 acres of fertile land to the residents for safe farming.

In 1988 landmines killed and injured 25,000 people. Last year landmines killed and injured 2,430 people. Demining works!

Pararasasingham Vejayakumar from Nagarkovil Village, Jaffna District

Arunakerinathai, a beneficiary from Jaffna said, “Thanks to HALO we’ve been able to return to our land after 22 years. Now we have a new house and can sell our crops again.” With more than half of all families in northern Sri Lanka dependent on the land for their livelihoods, restoring agricultural land to its original use is vital for local people, and it contributes hugely to the socio-economic development in the region. A study we co-conducted with ZOA Refugee Care found that, on average, the cost of mineclearance (paid by donors) is made back by villagers using the land in just two to four years. The rise in agricultural output has already substantially reduced imports of food, especially rice, the staple crop. Our work supports the quick resumption of self- sufficient agriculture and fishing, and it provides access to fresh water for people and their animals.

19 Cultivating a safer Afghanistan

Between 2002 and 2006 Herat Province suffered the most accidents of any province in Afghanistan with 627 recorded accidents. In 2007 the then British Secretary of State for Development, Douglas Alexander, visited Afghanistan and allocated additional funding to HALO for a major expansion into Herat, enabling us to deploy 500 new deminers.

etween 2008 and 2013, these deminers cleared Swathes of prime agricultural land that had lain barren 5,500 hectares of minefield and battlefield across 14 for three decades due to anti-tank mines is now being Bof Herat’s 16 districts, with 172,607 families directly cultivated. Of the 2,000 hectares of anti-tank minefields benefiting from this work. Since then there has been a surrounding the community at Islam Qala, Kohsan District; sharp drop in the number of casualties. more than half of this land is now producing crops. HALO’s five year Phase 1 mineclearance project (2008- Community members that had benefited from clearance 2013) in Herat Province scored the highest marks in an are more likely to have better access to education, independent evaluation of UK Aid. The report explains improved skills and better nutrition and health. In pre- the project had “…exceeded its first five year targets… clearance communities, high levels of illiteracy were showing significant improvements to the lives of intended recorded with just two communities having schools. Post- beneficiaries…” when measured against our original aim. clearance there is a growing number of schools to cater This was to enable increased legal livelihood opportunities to the large demand existing for an education. Almost for the poorest and most vulnerable communities through three quarters of these schools cater to girls, in stark mine and UXO removal. In March 2014 when the report contrast to the pre-clearance communities where no girls was released the BBC featured our work in Herat were able to receive an education. One such school, in Province as a positive example of aid that works in the Kamana village, was built directly on HALO cleared war-torn country. ground. HALO clearance in the province has also facilitated the In March 2013 the Department for International return of refugees from Iran, while other internally Development announced a further five years of funding to displaced persons have been able to re-build homes, re- continue the HALO project in Herat. The second five year establish communities and businesses and resume funding phase (2013 – 2018), aims to complete the agricultural activities safely in order to support their clearance of all remaining recorded contamination in the families. province, and bring Herat to mine-impact-free status.

Girls from Kamana Village at the school constructed on HALO cleared ground

20 Celebrating the first mine found in Colombia Below: The first cleared minefield is handed over to A safe path to a the community in Colombia peaceful future

ot long ago in the Colombian village of Puerto 100 beneficiaries, adults and school children, together Venus, a father and son found two landmines on with local government authorities, representatives from tNhe path to their home. Over 2,000 people lived in close the Organisation of American States and a delegation proximity to the minefield. Not any longer. HALO from the US Department of State. The land was formally finished clearing this minefield, the first to be cleared by handed over to the community and residents were able a civilian operator in Colombia, in March 2014. The land to walk through the cleared area to view photos and was handed back to the community for safe use, descriptions of the landmines cleared. and the residents can now reach their fields, Mineclearance will compliment the evolving and their children can attend school, without peace process. An agreement between the the threat of mines. government and the FARC would make We began clearing this minefield in the need for demining all the more Colombia in September 2013, and we urgent, since any accord will see the are the first and only international return of millions of Internally Displaced humanitarian organisation to conduct Persons (IDPs) to previously conflict- mineclearance in this heavily mine- stricken areas. In fact tens of thousands impacted country. Within one day of people have already registered to Deminer Jorge Daza found the first mine return to the municipalities where HALO is and it was safely destroyed. Jorge works as to conduct future clearance. part of a team funded by the US Government, Puerto Venus is the first of many villages that and this marked a milestone in Colombia’s mine will benefit from HALO’s vital work in Colombia. We action sector as the first mine cleared by a civilian team. are currently clearing a further seven minefields, with Nine landmines were found and destroyed in total survey teams working ahead in other municipalities. As during clearance. security continues to improve in the country families are A celebratory handover ceremony took place in returning to the homes and farms they abandoned Puerto Venus to mark the occasion attended by over during the fighting.

21 HALO HEADQUARTERS

HALO’s global headquarters in HALO USA HALO USA southwest Scotland has only twenty staff (West Coast) (most of whom travel to support, lead and evaluate HALO’s overseas programs).

COLOMBIA IVORY COAS T

Our Progress A Through 2013/14 Over 25 years of work to remove landmines has helped millions of families to return home safely. In 2013/14 alone, we destroyed a total of 62,507 landmines and 187,858 items of unexploded ordnance (UXO). We returned 3,922 hectares of former minefields to local populations for housing, farming, water and other development projects. We made safe over 2,678 hectares of battlefield that was littered with unexploded and abandoned ammunition. Our Weapons & Ammunition teams destroyed 737,154 rounds of small arms ammunition and Mine Risk Education was delivered to 34,888 people.

FALKLAND ISLANDS

22 HALO has over 7,500 full-time staff operating in conflict and post conflict H zones in 17 countries and territories, with on-going surveys into new regions. CROATIA CHEC HNYA BOSNIA KOSOV O GE ORGIA NAGORNO ARMENIA KARABAKH TAJIKISTAN

LEBANON AFGHA NI STAN WEST BANK

MYANMAR (BURMA)

LAO S ERITREA

VIETNAM SUDAN SOMALILAND

CAMBOD IA ETHIOPIA CENTRAL SR I AFRICAN REPUBLIC LANKA C

SOMALIA DEMOCRATIC REPUBLIC OF THE CONGO BURUND I

ANGOLA MOZAMBIQUE

ZIMBABWE Milestones since 1988:

1.5 million Mines cleared

11 million UXO cleared

54 million Bullets destroyed

20,000 Cluster munitions cleared

167,000 Assault rifles destroyed

3,400 Heavy weapon systems immobilised

10,800 Minefields cleared

Clearance Programmes 450,000 Acres of land returned for safe use

Surveys & Assessments 9,000 Miles of roads cleared

23 34 National Staff Abkhazia 10,065 Mines destroyed fter 14 years of HALO mineclearance, Abkhazia was declared Mine Free in November 2011. However, AUXO continues to be found and HALO is the only 58,538 organisation in Abkhazia capable of dealing with this UXO destroyed danger to the public. Abkhazia was contaminated with mines during the 1992-1993 conflict between the breakaway area and the government of Georgia. The completion of clearance covered an area of more than 1,500 hectares; with 9,788 three UXO per day and we retain small ordnance mines and 48,998 items of UXO found and destroyed. disposal teams based in the cities of Sukhumi and Gali, Many individuals hold mines and ordnance in their employing both ethnic Abkhaz and ethnic Georgian staff. homes as a legacy of the war, and the ongoing danger We also dispose of ageing ammunition from military such items pose has created a desire to hand in store{s, with 36 metric tons being destroyed last year, and this ordnance. HALO’s status as an independent we oversee the Abkhazia Mine Action Office which organisation, trusted by all communities in Abkhazia, maintains the detailed reports and maps of clearance means that we are ideally positioned to undertake the operations, important resources for anyone developing role of collecting and disposing of these items. rural land in Abkhazia. In 2013, we removed UXO in Abkhazia at the rate of Next Steps

In rural communities the collapse of roads was jeopardising the ability of people to use the land freed by mineclearance. Strong river flows had taken their toll and farmers were at risk of being cut off from their land and the market. Our extensive experience restoring roads in order to gain safe access to conduct mineclearance has led to a new HALO project. With $750,000 funding from USAID and the European Union, we are in the process of rebuilding and restoring bridges, culverts and flood defences that have collapsed or are close to collapse. Such is the need for road repairs in Abkhazia that word of HALO’s work has spread and over 100 requests for further works have been received.

Donors 2013/14: Government of the United States and the UK Foreign Commonwealth Office.

24 2,691 National Staff Afghanistan 22 0, 000 Mines destroyed fghanistan was the birthplace of HALO and twenty- five years later our work in this densely mined and Aheavily UXO contaminated country continues to be the 10.8m largest mineclearance programme in the world. UXO destroyed More than a million Afghans live within 500 metres of a mined area and after enduring three decades of violence there remains desperate need for our work. We have cleared over 11,500 hectares of minefield in Afghanistan, removing over 220,000 mines to directly assist more than joined HALO, providing valuable demining services to 1.7 million families. In 2013 alone in Afghanistan we Afghanistan’s people while earning regular salaries to found and destroyed 6,949 mines and UXO and our support their families. Herat Province mineclearance project scored the highest We recruit a multi-ethnic workforce in Afghanistan, marks in an independent evaluation of UK Aid. helpi{ng to guarantee the programme’s freedom of By undertaking mineclearance programmes we reduce movement and our teams continue to lead the drive to casualties among rural families, return land to farmers, locate, secure and destroy explosive ammunition that lies allow for infrastructure development and promote outside government control, preventing this material from resettlement, peace and stability. being used in roadside and suicide bombs. But that’s just half the story. On average we destroy 80 metric tons of munitions We are dedicated to building local capacity and our each month, around 10,000 explosive items (not programmes 3,250 Afghan staff is managed by Afghans, including small arms rounds). with support and assistance from just two international staff. Working with the Afghanistan Peace and Reintegration Next Steps Programme (APRP), we reintegrate former combatants into demining teams. So far 300 former fighters have As NATO troops prepare for departure, we will focus on the evolving security situation and increase our employment of men of fighting age from strategically critical provinces. If additional funds can be secured this programme could easily assimilate thousands more deminers, supporting the peacebuilding and reconciliation process by offering these men a viable alternative to a violent future, while safeguarding the future of the communities who live close to mined areas.

Donors 2013/14: Governments of the United States, UK, Netherlands, Norway, Germany, Ireland, Finland, Belgium, Japan and those governments supporting the UN-managed Voluntary Trust Fund for Assistance in Mine Action. The UN Office for Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs, the Association for Aid and Relief and private individuals. 25 382 National Staff Angola 86 ,000 Mines destroyed ngola is heavily contaminated with landmines and explosive remnants, a legacy of the 27 year civil war Athat ended in 2002. 158 ,000 HALO has been operating in Angola since 1994 and we UXO destroyed have since destroyed more than 86,000 landmines and 158,000 larger calibre ordnance. More than 750 minefields have been cleared, in excess of 20,234 hectares. We have also opened 4,500 miles of road by using pioneering systems to assist emergency aid agencies who were While HALO’s mineclearance has been essential in unable to reach communities because of anti-tank mines. allowing provincial capitals to be rebuilt, our work is now HALO is the only organisation supporting the Angolan focused in more rural areas. In particular we are helping police and military to destroy unwanted weapons and those who travel through minefields or on a mined or ammunition. Our WAD teams have destroyed over 107,000 susp{ected road to collect water, fetch firewood, grow food weapons, over 2.2 million bullets and more than 1,200 metric or market produce. tons of unwanted ammunition. This has massively reduced In short our priority is those vulnerable Angolans who, in potential unplanned explosions and armed violence. order to survive, endure the threat of mined areas as part In Huambo province clearance is nearing completion and of their day to day lives. we have deployed the majority of our current demining assets in Angola to Kuando Kubango province where a Next Steps large proportion of Angola’s minefields remain. In total, there are more than 540 minefields remaining in HALO’s area of Funding for the Angolan programme has reduced operations, covering an area of over 4,000 hectares. dramatically over recent years, despite the mine problem remaining serious and widespread. HALO currently employs 382 Angolan staff, but five years ago our staff numbered over 1,100. As a result of funding reduction rural communities that have already waited decades for mineclearance may now have to wait decades more unless levels of funding increase. We are therefore urgently seeking new funding to take the staff number back up to at least 1,250 as soon as possible. If we can achieve this level of staffing, Angola could be free of mines within 7 years.

Donors 2013/14: Governments of the United States, Finland, Angola and the European Union.

26 35 National Staff Armenia 2 Mines destroyed rmenia’s mines problem is a product of the war over neighbouring Nagorno Karabakh. At various stages Aduring the war fighting skirted the border between the Soviet republics of Armenia and Azerbaijan. While the border now is just a line on a map, villagers on both sides have lived with minefields for more than 20 years. { HALO conducted survey work in Armenia in 2013 and we were the first international NGO to conduct mineclearance operations in the country, commencing in A core part of our work in Armenia is training a April 2014. group of 60 deminers from Armenia’s Peacekeeping Our teams of deminers have begun work clearing a Engineering Battalion (PKEB). The PKEB deminers are minefield in the village of Srashen, near the town of working alongside HALO teams clearing three minefields Kapan in Syunik region. We have also deployed a around Srashen. This is providing them with essential mechanical clearance team who have completed the experience and developing the knowledge and skills they clearance of one minefield in Shurnukh, Syunik region. need to lead such work themselves in the longer term.

Next Steps

As part of a grant from the US government, HALO will train the Armenian deminers to clear to international demining standards, and we will then manage the team’s clearance for two years. HALO’s training and management will provide Armenia with a well-trained and experienced team of deminers to clear Armenia’s landmines problem and finally rid the country of the devastating impact of these mines.

Donors 2013/14: Government of the United States.

27 834 National Staff Cambodia 264 ,000 Mines destroyed ambodia remains one of the most landmine affected countries in the world, with one in 235 Cambodians Ca casualty of landmine and explosive remnants. 167 ,000 Landmine contamination was the result of extensive UXO destroyed mine-laying during nearly two decades of fighting that began with Vietnam’s ousting of the Khmer Rouge in 1979 and continued until their final demise in 1998. HALO was the first organisation to respond to Cambodia’s landmine problem, back in 1991. After more of operations is located in the northwest, where nearly than two decades of mineclearance substantial progress all mine accidents occur today. has been made. We have removed more than a quarter The rural communities in the mine affected areas rely of a million mines, the number of casualties has reduced heavily on agriculture. This, combined with an expanding and hundreds of thousands of Cambodians have popu{lation, due to migration of landless poor from urban benefited from HALO’s work. areas, means that mineclearance rates remain outpaced Today with over 800 Khmer men and women employed, by the strong demand for land. HALO remains the largest international organisation in the In 2013 HALO cleared 7,127 mines from 318 minefields country conducting survey, mineclearance, Explosive to return 1,186 hectares of agricultural land to rural Ordnance Disposal (EOD) and Mine Risk Education (MRE). Cambodians. Teams also cleared 10,614 other items of The landmine threat that was once ubiquitous in explosive ordnance, provided assistance to the new Cambodia is now concentrated in the northwest border programme in neighboring Laos and trained new Myanmar districts along the border with Thailand. Our current area employees. Cambodia remains a key HALO programme for global training and Research and Development.

Next Steps

Our survey teams helped to implement a countrywide survey which was completed in 2013, identifying the scale of the work that remains. At current clearance capacity it will take another 14 years to rid Cambodia of mines. This is too long. We have an urgent need for more funding to increase the number of deminers in Cambodia to significantly speed up mine clearance.

Donors 2013/14: Governments of the United States, United Kingdom, Finland, Ireland, New Zealand and the Netherlands. The Caerus Foundation, the Gould Family Foundation, Rotary International and Freedom Fields USA.

28 127 National Staff Colombia 44 Mines destroyed olombia is one of the most mine-affected countries in the world with almost 11,000 victims recorded so Cfar and an annual casualty rate second only to Afghanistan. The country has endured more than fifty years of armed conflict between the government and guerrilla { groups, principally the FARC, which began as a Marxist movement. The use of locally manufactured mines became a key tactic by guerrilla groups beginning in the HALO is the first, and currently the only, civilian 1990s and it continues today. demining organisation operating in Colombia. We have This conflict has caused significant mass displacement. been working in the country since 2009, initially focussed Colombia has more Internally Displaced Persons (IDPs) on survey and now conducting survey, mineclearance than any country bar Syria. Guerillas have laid mines on and Explosive Ordnance Disposal (EOD). routes used by government forces and around illicit crop Our first demining teams were deployed in 2013 and plantations. In regions where the Colombian military has by the spring of 2014 HALO's eleven demining teams re-established control, these mines continue to cause had cleared five minefields and are now working to clear indiscriminate casualties, prevent the return of civilians a further nine. Five survey teams are working ahead in who fled and block urgently needed development other municipalities of Antioquia Department, having projects. previously conducted security and mine assessments in Bolivar, Sucre, Meta, Nariño and Cauca Departments. The Colombian government is engaged in peace talks with the FARC guerrillas, and both sides have agreed on a programme to clear rural areas of landmines. With a possible peace deal on the horizon, HALO is set to play a critical role in Colombia’s reconstruction by allowing communities to return in safety, facilitating development and helping to stabilise fragile regions.

Next Steps

HALO plans to expand to over 500 deminers within the next few years to help the country meet its Mine Ban Treaty obligation for a mine free Colombia by 2021.

Donors 2013/14: Governments of the United States, Japan, Germany, the United Kingdom and the European Union, and UNMAS.

29 174 National Staff Georgia 3,374 Mines destroyed he war between Georgia and Russia in August 2008 resulted in significant contamination from cluster Tmunitions and other unexploded ordnance (UXO), to the 14,124 north of the Georgian town of Gori. HALO conducted UXO destroyed battlefield cleanup over the next year with close to 300 staff clearing more than 1,700 hazardous items from 3,400 hectares of land. Shida Kartli, one of the country’s most productive agricultural areas, was considered the region most heavily In early 2014, our teams concentrated on the former affected by the war. HALO left Shida Kartli at the end of Soviet firing ranges around the 6th century David Garedji 2009 after successfully concluding all the clearance, which Monastery. This area sees an influx of thousands of allowed internally displaced persons to return to their tourists every year visiting from all over the world. It is homes and fields and to farm their land in safety. recei{ving ongoing clearance, but the areas around the There are also known areas outside Georgia’s conflict monasteries were prioritised and cleared by us in time for zones where mines and UXO continue to cause the busy summer tourist season. casualties. These include former military bases, border HALO has also been conducting clearance of land close minefields and training areas which have been returned to to the administrative boundary line with the breakaway civilian use. region of South Ossetia. This was an area previously unused by farmers due to security concerns which opened up in late 2013, and we responded immediately to clear cluster munition strikes, making this land safe for cultivation.

Next Steps

The principal mineclearance challenge that remains in Georgia is the 7km-long barrier minefield on the border with Azerbaijan. This is probably the largest minefield with a humanitarian impact in the Caucasus region but to date it had not been possible to conduct clearance on this sensitive border.

Donors 2013/14: Government of the United States and Japan’s Grassroots Grants Programme.

30 30 National Staff Ivory Coast 8,218 Weapons Cut etween 2002 and 2011 the Ivory Coast suffered two civil wars and a decade as a divided nation with Bseparate administrations. This period culminated in a 167 post electoral crisis and a short lived conflict that led to Armouries Built the arrest of former President Gbagbo in April 2011. The following month HALO deployed a small team to undertake an emergency survey to investigate rumours regarding the use of landmines in the conflict. While the team concluded that landmines had not been used, there military personnel had little understanding of the was a widespread problem with weapons and ammunition that they were now responsible for. ammunition security in the Ivory Coast. HALO is assisting and mentoring the Ivorian Across the country significant damage had been inflicted authorities in the destruction of unserviceable and on government buildings and as a result many weapons unwa{nted ammunition, we are updating and building and ammunition stores were insecure. Armouries and new armouries and ammunition stores and we have ammunition stores had been looted or destroyed and created national storage best practices. storage was too close to the civilian population. In total 167 armouries and ammunition stores have The fragility of the situation was tragically illustrated by been rehabilitated or built and 20 are ongoing. a deadly explosion in August 2011, caused by poorly In 2013 HALO provided technical support to the Army stored ammunition in the town of Daloa. It was clear that in the destruction of the country’s last known stocks of anti-personnel mines and cluster bombs. The only known minefield in the Ivory Coast has now been cleared by FRCI Engineers operating under HALO supervision. Overall, HALO destroyed a total of 74 tonnes of ammunition by the end of June 2014.

Next Steps

Now that peace and good order has been established, the process of demobilisation, disarmament and reintegration is underway. We are supporting this process with extensive technical assistance, including specialist support at all disarmament events in case unsafe items are surrendered.

Donors 2013/14: United Nations Mine Action Service (UNMAS).

31 71 National Staff Kosovo 4,515 Mines destroyed osovo was contaminated in the 1990s by landmines and by explosive remnants of war during the Kconflicts between Yugoslav forces and the Kosovo 34,020 Liberation Army. UXO destroyed The country was also contaminated by NATO airstrikes. Over 78 days in 1999 NATO bombed Yugoslav targets in Kosovo, releasing 1,392 bombs containing 295,700 sub-munitions. With a failure rate estimated at 20%, thousands of these unexploded sub-munitions littered Despite limits on funding more than 4,500 mines have the ground or became buried in fields and gardens. been cleared since 2001, evidencing the error in the In 2001, despite clear evidence that many minefields UN’s 2001 claims of ‘Mine Free’ status. remained in Kosovo, the United Nations declared the In 2013 our small team completed clearance on nine country to be ‘Mine Free’. HALO was the most vocal of mine{fields and three cluster munition strikes. Notably, many agencies protesting against this decision, which this included the last minefield in Krivenik village, an area condemned the people of Kosovo to living with the Google has worked with us on to create an interactive ongoing threat of minefields in and around their villages. map of Krivenik’s minefields. This map showcases the The rural poor are those most directly affected. positive impact our efforts have had in the village through Our work in Kosovo complements the clearance a series of images and testimonials, and it can be viewed conducted by the Kosovo Security Force, however at www.halotrust.org/clearingkosovo. clearance has been slow due to a lack of funding. This lack of funding is because most government donors still Next Steps believe the job was completed in 2001. It was not and the threat is ongoing. In 2013 we worked with the Government of Kosovo to conduct a survey and identified a total of 79 minefields and 51 cluster bomb strikes remaining which require clearance. This is more than ten years of work with the clearance capacity currently available. So we have launched an appeal called ‘the four year challenge’ to increase funding for this important work. We are committed to reaching a mine free Kosovo by 2017, and more funding will help us achieve this.

Donors 2013/14: Governments of Switzerland and Belgium.

32 124 National Staff Laos 5,922 UXO destroyed aos has the world’s largest contamination from unexploded ordnance (UXO), much of this consisting Lof sub-munitions. It is estimated that of the two million metric tons of bombs dropped during the air campaign against the Vietnamese forces, up to 30% of munitions We are currently working in Savannakhet Province failed to detonate on impact. which, h{istorically, has accounted for 25% of all UXO significantly restricts the use of agricultural land casualties. Our teams are focused on two eastern in the country and delays economic development, as well districts in Savannakhet: Sepon and Vilabuly. Located as causing death and injury to people. As a direct result along the Vietnamese border, straddling the historic of the UXO contamination 20,000 people have been supply route known at the ‘Ho Chi Minh Trail’, they rank killed or injured in Laos since the end of the Vietnam War. among the poorest districts in the country. In 2013 HALO began UXO clearance, survey, risk The Government of Laos has prioritised UXO education and Explosive Ordnance Disposal in Laos. clearance and aims to clear 200,000 hectares of With casualties still occurring 40 years after the contaminated land by 2020. However, with current bombings, and with such widespread contamination, clearance rates in Laos ranging between 4,000 to 5,000 there was a clear requirement for HALO to begin hectares of contaminated land per year, this goal is operations in the country. ambitious. Increasing clearance capacities and During our first year of work in Laos we have destroyed efficiencies are crucial to achieving this important goal. 2,396 cluster munitions, 14 air dropped bombs and 1,557 Our aim in Laos is to continuously raise survey and other items of UXO, clearing a total land area of 39 clearance standards. We will support the government in hectares. its Rural Development and Poverty Eradication Programmes through accurate survey, appropriate clearance prioritisation and, most importantly, facilitating the large scale clearance that is required.

Next Steps

HALO will expand its capacity to a further 100 national staff in 2014, doubling in size. If additional funding is forthcoming we hope to grow even more, as our growth to support clearance in Laos will be determined by the availability of funding.

Donors 2013/14: Government of the United States.

33 401 National Staff Mozambique 143,959 Mines destroyed n 1992 Mozambique emerged from almost 30 years of conflict and was regarded as one of the most mine Iimpacted countries in the world. Twenty years after the 2,418 end of the civil war there is now an end in sight. UXO destroyed HALO began working in the country in 1993 and we have played an integral role in Mozambique’s success in dealing with its mines problem. We are the largest mineclearance organisation in the country and with the considerable progress made thus far, Mozambique’s model for other countries and has also been used in Government intends to complete clearance by the end south and central Mozambique. of 2014. In 2007 we were asked to move to south and central In 2007 the northern half of Mozambique, an area the Mozambique to conduct a Baseline Assessment of size of California, was declared Mine Free after 14 years the r{emaining mines problem and to then conduct of HALO mineclearance. Our teams cleared 552 mineclearance in the provinces of Tete, Manica and minefields and over 100,000 mines in northern Maputo. Mozambique, then visited over 6,000 communities to In March 2014, Maputo province was declared Mine determine that no known minefields remained. This Free allowing us to focus on expanding our clearance process, called the Mine Free District survey, was operations in Manica and Tete provinces. In the first four designed by HALO and has since been recognised as a months of 2014, our teams have been clearing an average of just over 1,500 mines each month.

Next Steps

It will be a busy rest of 2014 as Mozambique nears completion. There are factors that could challenge Mozambique’s wish to complete by 31st December 2014, but we will continue to deliver highly efficient quality clearance. HALO thanks our donors, for providing the funding required to reach this point. We will remain flexible in case we are needed to assist in other provinces in Mozambique and we will respond appropriately should there be a need to keep a small residual capacity in the country post 2014.

Donors 2013/14: Governments of the United States, United Kingdom, Netherlands, Ireland, Norway and Sweden through UNDP.

34 10 National Staff Myanmar he Landmine Monitor reports that over the past six We have r{ecruited men and women from key ethnic years Myanmar has had the third highest number of groupings and have trained them on our programme in Tknown landmine casualties in the world. Despite this no Cambodia during the first half of 2014. During this 6 mineclearance to international standards has taken place month training package Myanmar's future mine action in Myanmar. managers have learnt and practiced minefield survey and Landmines are concentrated in the states around marking, manual mineclearance with a range of detector Myanmar’s borders with Thailand as a result of decades types, Explosive Ordnance Disposal and management of of war between the government and ethnic minority a mineclearance project. During the first half of 2014 armed groups. The presence of landmines hinders the HALO has also participated in pilot survey projects in safe return of both Internally Displaced Persons (IDPs) Myanmar. and refugees, and it restricts livelihood opportunities in An integrated approach, encompassing risk education, conflict areas. survey and clearance, will be vital to peace-building HALO established an office in Myanmar in September efforts in Myanmar. This will enable the return of 2012, and since October 2012 we have been working displaced people, improved economic opportunities in with the Myanmar Peace Centre (within which the affected ethnic minority areas and increasing physical Myanmar Mine Action Centre is being established) to security. draft national standards. We have also joined the UNHCR-led National Protection Working Group. Next Steps

We are prioritising developing risk education training and field coordination capacity which will support community based organisations in affected areas. At this early stage of the ceasefire process this is the most effective method for reaching communities and building relationships. The key approach of HALO’s project is full transparency to all stakeholders, and our plan has been endorsed by key peacemakers at the highest levels. The community orientated nature of our approach will push the boundaries of what is currently possible, building grassroots relationships as a precursor to the deployment of survey and clearance teams in the future.

Donors 2013/14: Actiefonds Mijnen Ruimen (AMR) and HALO core funds.

35 175 National Staff Nagorno Karabakh 10,914 Mines destroyed he Armenian people of Nagorno Karabakh are locked in post-Soviet isolation and poverty due to the Tdisputed status of the territory. During the intense two- 24,624 year war between Armenia and Azerbaijan over Nagorno UXO destroyed Karabakh in the early 1990s, landmines were laid across large swathes of land and cluster bombs were dropped that failed to detonate at the time. Although fighting ceased 20 years ago, the people of Nagorno Karabakh continue to suffer. In fact, Karabakh 2013 we employed 175 Karabaki staff to conduct manual has one of the world’s highest per capita mine casualty and mechanical mine and cluster bomb clearance. rates, on a par with Afghanistan. We also field survey and Explosive Ordnance Disposal The consequences of the widespread use of anti-tank teams and provide Mine Risk Education; the latter mines in Nagorno Karabakh has been particularly havin{g been deemed so essential by Government devastating. Farmers face the choice of either leaving authorities that it has been incorporated into the Nagorno large tracts of land uncultivated or risking their lives to Karabakh school curriculum. earn an income. HALO has now cleared almost 90% of all landmines in HALO has been the only organisation conducting Nagorno Karabakh, returning 27,000 hectares of cleared mineclearance in Nagorno Karabakh since 2000 and in land to the local people. However, the disputed status means that US Government funds (the US being the only government currently funding large-scale clearance) can be used only in certain parts of the territory. The areas where government funds cannot be used are sometimes described as ‘green areas’, and the majority of the remaining mines and UXO problems are now located in these unfunded green areas.

Next Steps

HALO is actively and urgently recruiting new donors who are not encumbered by politics and are prepared to fund clearance in these politically sensitive areas where the humanitarian need is great. Such funding will allow us to work in these high priority areas.

Donors 2013/14: US Agency for International Development (USAID) and smaller private contributions from the Armenian Diaspora led by the Landmine Free Artsakh Campaign.

36 600 National Staff Somaliland 4,371 Mines destroyed omaliland is an unrecognised independent state located in northwest Somalia in the Horn of Africa. SThe landmine and explosive remnants of war problem in 32,841 Somaliland comes as a result of over 18 years of UXO destroyed warfare, with mines laid during the war between Somalia and Ethiopia and later during the civil war that led to Somaliland’s de-facto independence. HALO began working in Somaliland in 1999 and we are the sole mineclearance operator across all six Weapon and ammunition disposal teams also address regions of Somaliland. A staggering 90% of Somaliland’s the problem of explosive security and in the past 12 population is unemployed and HALO is the third largest months we have recovered and destroyed 18 Man employer in the state. The steady employment of local Portable Air Defense Systems (known as MANPADS). staff from rural communities, across all ethnic clans, is a Thes{e unsecured guided missiles are one of the greatest win-win situation and complements HALO’s large scale threats to international security. We also mentor the mineclearance efforts. Government’s national demining agency and work By March 2014 we had destroyed more than 250,000 closely with the government body in charge of mine explosive items and cleared over 1,360 hectares of mined action to maintain the mine contamination database land. More than 18,340 hectares of former battlefield (IMSMA). areas have also been returned to local communities. This cleared land has been put to immediate productive use Next Steps for grazing and agriculture, access to water and markets and village expansion. There are 208 hazardous areas remaining in Somaliland comprising some 1,000 hectares contaminated by mines and 1,500 hectares contaminated by other explosive remnants of war. The vast majority of these minefields are on roads and others block agricultural and grazing land – two activities that form the backbone of Somaliland’s economy. With marginal expansion of the programme to 700 staff, HALO expects all known minefields in Somaliland to be cleared by the end of 2017. In 2014/15 we plan to establish a programme in the south and central regions of Somalia.

Donors 2013/14: Governments of the United States, Germany, Finland, Netherlands, Norway and Ireland.

37 1,140 National Staff Sri Lanka 182,865 Mines destroyed n 2009 the Sri Lankan Government declared an end to decades of armed conflict with the Liberation Tigers of ITamil Eelam (LTTE). Landmines were used by both sides 59,704 at different stages of the fighting. They continue to present UXO destroyed an obstacle to the safe return of Internally Displaced Persons (IDPs) and block access to paddy fields, fishing jetties, grazing land and community infrastructure. HALO began operations here in 2002 and we remain the largest mine action operator in the country. With 1,140 former battlefield areas while destroying more than staff, including over 750 former IDPs and 250 women, 181,000 landmines, 59,000 items of large calibre the programme in Sri Lanka is HALO’s second largest. ammunition and 530,000 bullets. Explosive Ordnance We initially focused efforts on clearing mine belts laid Disposal teams were called to assist with over 7,200 across the Jaffna peninsula during the fighting in the ‘eme{rgency’ reports of UXO found. 1990s. With the end of the war in 2009, we expanded By early 2013 demining had allowed most families to south to the formerly LTTE-controlled districts of return home with some 160,000 people returned to the Kilinochchi and Mullaitivu. During the heavy fighting of areas surveyed and cleared by HALO. 2008 some 300,000 people were displaced and, after Our survey work has been essential in accurately the war, landmines and other explosive remnants of war defining the mines problem in Sri Lanka. In 2013 we posed a major obstacle to their safe return. conducted a survey outside the traditional area of Between 2002 and May 2014, our teams cleared over operations on behalf of the Government and through this 950 hectares of minefields and over 1,650 hectares of we were able to cancel 1,500 hectares from Mannar and Vavuniya districts. This significantly reduced the area needing to be cleared and provided a much more accurate picture of the remaining problem.

Next Steps

By the end of June 2013, the national authorities reported 8,900 hectares of contamination to be cleared. We are seeking additional funding from donor governments and private donors to increase the demining capacity to 1500 national staff. This will enable clearance of all high and medium priority minefields by the end of 2016.

Donors 2013/14: Governments of the United Kingdom, United States, Norway and Japan.

38 33 National Staff West Bank 70 Mines destroyed umanitarian mineclearance is relatively new to the West Bank. Landmines were laid in the region by Hboth the Jordanian and Israeli armies in a number of phases, including heavy minelaying by the Jordanian Army in the build up to the Six Day War of 1967. We commenced mineclearance in the West Bank in We established a programme here in 2011 to assist April 201{3 at a-Nabi Elyas minefield, one of 13 minefields the recently created Israeli National Mine Action prioritised because they directly affect Palestinian Authority and the Palestinian Mine Action Centre in a communities surrounded by housing, near roads or on unique collaboration. HALO was the first and only NGO land that could be used for farming. Over 70 anti-tank with support from both the Israeli and Palestinian mine- and anti-personnel mines were found and safely action authorities. destroyed in the first four months of clearance. In 2011 we made an initial assessment of the West In the West Bank previous Israeli military clearance Bank and the Jordan Valley, and from this assessment attempts mean that plastic mines are deeply buried in 90 technically challenging minefields were identified. A the ground, making it impractical to clear the land with small, politically-neutral humanitarian programme was conventional manual clearance methods. Mechanical agreed to tackle these. Governmental support, particularly clearance plays a key role in the West Bank program. from the US, has been essential in getting this project off the ground. Next Steps

Governmental donors have been quick to respond to HALO’s requirement for funding recognising the huge value in a unique project that enjoys Israeli and Palestinian cooperation with a tangible, permanent outcome. We are working to secure access to start the clearance of a second minefield in the West Bank – a process that can be sensitive and politicised at times. If the programme can expand to clear the remaining minefields in less time, there may be scope for additional donor funding to support the programme. We will continue to prioritise the clearance of the remaining minefields in the West Bank which impact upon the local Palestinian population, minefields that have remained uncleared for over 50 years.

Donors 2013/14: Governments of the United States, Netherlands, New Zealand and the United Kingdom.

39 126 National Staff Zimbabwe 1,643 Mines destroyed f the existing records are correct then Zimbabwe contains more than a million mines, making this country Ihome to some of the largest and most dangerous minefields in the world. Border communities are severely impacted, human and cattle accidents occur on Our survey to date has identified 12 minefields within a regular basis and valuable farmland is being denied to 150 metr{es of schools, 19 minefields within 50 metres of rural communities who depend on subsistence farming. houses and 31 minefields within 10 metres of cultivated The mines problem in Zimbabwe dates back to the land. Clearance began in November 2013 and within six Liberation War of the 1970s when Rhodesian forces months we cleared more than 1,000 landmines in areas attempted to seal the country’s borders with a series of of the highest humanitarian priority. killing barrier minefields to prevent liberation fighters re- Foya village in Mashonaland Central is one example entering Zimbabwe. of a priority area. The population of 1,500 lives on one In 2013 HALO began survey, mine risk education and side of a main road that runs through the village, while mineclearance in Zimbabwe. We have been given initial on the other side is a dense barrier minefield, beyond responsibility for survey and clearance of the border which is the main source of water for the community. minefields running from Musengezi in Mashonaland This means that villagers had to cross through the Central to Rwenya in Northern Manicaland, some 13,759 minefield daily for access to water, to graze livestock and hectares in total along Zimbabwe’s northeast border with to cultivate farmland. Our mineclearance work will make Mozambique. the daily lives of these villagers immeasurably safer.

Next Steps

Accurate estimations of time and cost to clear Zimbabwe will be established once the current phase of survey is complete. This will be informed by initial mineclearance work which will identify mine density, clearance challenges and corresponding clearance rates. However, our initial survey and clearance work makes it absolutely clear that large scale demining is urgently needed in Zimbabwe. We are seeking additional donor support to employ hundreds more deminers to rid Zimbabwe and its villages of its minefield problem within a sensible time frame.

Donors 2013/14: Governments of the United States, Japan, Ireland and the Julia Burke Foundation.

40

Financial Report 94% of HALO’s global income goes directly to field operations. Global Income United Nations 10% by Donor 2013/14

United Kingdom 11%

The United States of America 33%

Norway 8%

Finland 6% New Zealand 1%

Switzerland 1%

Belgium 2% The Netherlands 7%

Private Donations 3% Germany 6%

European Commission 3% Ireland 5%

Japan 5%

Zimbabwe West Bank Global Income by Global Programme 2013/14 Somaliland

Afghanistan Sri Lanka

Nagorno Karabakh/Armenia

Mozambique

Laos Angola Kosovo

Ivory Coast Cambodia Georgia/Abkhazia Colombia

The combined income of HALO UK and HALO USA for the year ended 31 March 2014 was approximately £37 million.

The HALO Trust (“HALO UK”) is registered with the Charity Commission for England and Wales, number 1001813, and the Office of the Scottish Charity Regulator (OSCR), number SC037870. The HALO Trust (USA), Inc. (“HALO USA”) is recognised as a non-profit corporation under Section 501 (c) (3) of the US Internal Revenue Code and is registered with OSCR, number SC039625.

43 The HALO Trust - UK

Directors and Trustees Bankers

Amanda Pullinger (Chairman) Royal Bank of Scotland Anthony Bird 36 St Andrew Square Tom Bradby Edinburgh Simon Conway EH2 2YB Jane Davis Jamie Lowther-Pinkerton Legal advisers Cindy McCain Michael Merton Bircham Dyson Bell 50 Broadway Members London SW1H 0BL Tim Cheatle Hugo Clarke Anderson Strathearn LLP Alex Grinling 1 Rutland Court Lorne Mitchell Edinburgh Susan Mitchell EH2 8EY Nick Nobbs Auditors Head Office KPMG LLP Carronfoot 191 West George Street Thornhill Glasgow Dumfries G2 2LJ DG3 5BF United Kingdom

The HALO Trust - USA

Directors and Trustees Bankers

Cindy McCain (Chairman) JPMorgan Chase Bank Mia Hamwey (Vice-Chairman) 1 Chase Manhattan Plaza Marilyn Burke New York, NY 10005 Carla Eudy Deborah Netland Legal advisers Nick Nobbs Amanda Pullinger Zuckert Scoutt & Rasenberger, L.L.P. 888 Seventeenth St, NW Offices Washington, DC 20006-3309 East Coast 1730 Rhode Island Ave, Suite 403 Auditors Washington, DC 20036 USA KPMG LLP 1801 K Street, NW West Coast Suite 12000 220 Montgomery St, Suite 968 Washington DC 20006 San Francisco, CA 94104 USA

44 With Thanks

We would like to thank our donors for their invaluable support. In 2013/14 HALO has generously been supported by the following national governments and international organisations: Belgium, European Commission, ECHO, EDF, Finland, Germany, Ireland, Japan, the Netherlands, New Zealand, Norway, Switzerland, United Kingdom, the United Nations and the United States of America.

And in 2013/14 HALO received support from the following major private and corporate donors, as well as receiving many other donations, large and small, from individuals and organisations around the world.

Thank you to all for making a difference:

Actiefonds Mijnen Ruimen The Hans K Rausing Trust Susan Altman Hewlett Packard Company The Armenia Fund Lawrence Hitch AT&T Grapes for Humanity Canada The Batchworth Trust The Gould Family Foundation Wayne and Janet Berman Harbour Lights Foundation Judy and Charles Black Hillhouse Trust The Black Dog Foundation Marta Karpiel The Julia Burke Foundation Karen and Kevin Kennedy Foundation C E & S Foundation Landmine Free Artsakh The Caerus Foundation, Inc. George and Karen Longstreth The Combined Federal Campaign Berdge Manoukian The Coca Cola Company The Map Maker Trust Dalio Family Foundation Microsoft Corporation Richard and Karen Davis John and Cindy McCain Dulverton Trust McMullen & Sons Ltd. Jack DeLoss Taylor Charitable Trust Sally Mussetter Diane Disney Miller and family Deborah Netland Carla Eudy Ofenheim Charitable Trust Esri Nick and Anne Patterson Fondation Pro Victimis People to People International Freedom Fields USA Amanda Pullinger Eric B. Friedman The Reece Foundation Lee M. and Juliet Folger Miss Robinson Charitable Trust The Fuller Family Charitable Trust Rotary International Sonia E Gardner The Seattle Foundation Mark Geragos Robert and Aurora Teh Google Earth Outreach The Welton Foundation Mia and Larry Hamwey Greg and Lisa Wendt

Together we are making landmines history

45 Get Involved Whether individuals, small groups, organisations or governments, each and every one of HALO’s donors create real and lasting change in some of the world’s most vulnerable communities. HALO donors save lives and turn minefields into valuable, productive farmland. Find out more about why we are committed to making landmines history, and discover the difference you make to communities around the world when you support HALO.

Sponsor a Landmine Removal Project Make a Gift - Every Pound At HALO we know that sponsorship of a landmine and UXO removal project Counts can save lives. And we believe it can change yours, too.

Donate online: £150 pays a deminer’s monthly salary, supporting a local family www.halotrust.org/donate

£900 buys a metal detector used to locate landmines

£18,000 buys a vehicle to transport the demining teams Send a cheque: The HALO Trust £37,000 funds a demining team in Cambodia for a year Carronfoot, Carronbridge, Thornhill, DG3 5BF United Kingdom Donors who support a team of deminers for a month or more will be recognised as the project sponsor and you’ll receive a detailed completion report with staff names, mines cleared and minefields transformed when the project is complete. Call us: +44 (0) 1848 331100 We'll match your gift to the area of greatest need or you can contact us to learn more about the programmes. Prices vary per country. HALO accepts bequests and stocks, please call us for more For more information contact us at information. [email protected] or +44 (0) 1848 331100

46 Remove a Landmine. Save a Life. Carronfoot, Thornhill, Dumfries DG3 5BF United Kingdom Tel: +44 (0) 1848 331 100 Fax: +44 (0) 1848 331 122 [email protected] www.halotrust.org

220 Montgomery Street, Suite 968, San Francisco, CA 94104 United States Tel: +1 415 986 4852 Fax: +1 415 986 1214 [email protected] www.halousa.org

1730 Rhode Island Ave NW, Suite 403, Washington, DC 20036 United States Tel: +1 202 331 1266 Fax: +1 202 331 1277 [email protected] www.halousa.org

www.halotrust.org www.halousa.org HALO UK Charity No. 1001813 & SC037870, HALO USA Inc 501(c)(3) Non Profit Corporation No. 52-2158152